If you have never been to Catalina Island off the coast of Los Angeles, it is a must visit even if you do not plan on camping! I have gone for a weekend getaway with my girlfriend in the past and staying in a hotel visiting the sites, taking an offroad vehicle tour and doing some fantastic kayaking.
I have always wanted to go back and do the Trans Catalina Trail and hike across the island, camping along the way. This hike can be hard logistically and financially. The campsites are not cheap, and neither is the ferry ride from Los Angels.
Camping options are limited on Catalina, and there are a couple of different routes that most people can take to finish the Trans Catalina Hike and we will go over a couple of different options here.
I started my research using these websites:
In this trip planning of Catalina, I will talk about three different Options for the hike:
1) The Official Trans Catalina Hike (37.8 Miles)
It looks like in 2017 the Catalina Conservancy changed the hike a little and their official hike map can be found here.
This hike starts up through hermit gulch campground instead of Renton Mine Road up East Mountain for views overlooking the east of the island. It also does not go all the way to the west end of the island to starlight beach instead brings you as far west as Fenceline Road.
The map above can be downloaded and viewed on Caltopo here.
2) The Full East to West Catalina Hike (48 miles)
This hike is detailed in the SoCal Hiker Trans Catalina Trip Report. This hike pretty much takes you as far east and as far west as you can go on Catalina Island.
The map above can be downloaded and viewed on Caltopo here.
3) Combination Trans Catalina Hike (41.8 miles or 49.57 miles)
The combination Trans Catalina Hike is a combination and mix match of the first two options. I am going to be doing this hike because I was able to secure all my permits except for Parsons Landing.
This brings up a good point, most of the campsite have a decent amount of sites to stay at, but Parsons Landing only has eight sites. Parsons landing can be difficult to get reservations for, and since I failed I had to tweak my hike a little.
This hike has you waking up in Two Harbors hiking out to the west end and hiking back to Two Harbors in one day. This hike is what She Dreams of Alpine does in her hike.
The Combination Trans Catalina Trail Hike uses the end of the first hike above with the beginning of the second hike:
This map is a little more detailed than the last two because its what I am using to plan my trip and is broken down into days. You can download the above map on Caltopo here.
As you can see in the above map for the combination Trans Catalina Trail hike, there are two options for the last day's loop from Two Harbors.
1) Option 1 is a 13.5-mile loop that cuts across Fenceline Road just like the Official Trans Catalina hike.
2) Option 2 is a nice and long 21.32-mile loop that heads to starlight beach and back to Two Harbors.
I am not sure what option I am taking on my hike yet but I will wait to see how we feel the night before, or we might just skip both and grab beers in Two Harbors instead!
Campsites and Reservations
Once you have decided on which hike route you want to take, it is then time to make reservations for all the campsites and the ferry ride over. Get out your wallet and hold your breath because this can be the expensive part of this trip:
Campsite Reservations
I would not reserve any campsites until you know you can reserve a spot at each for your trip. I opened a browser tab for each campsite and then booked them all at once after seeing they all were free on the day I needed them.
Ferry Reservations
You can make reservations online with Catalina Express. Be careful when booking because as of writing this guide, only the San Pedro port goes to Two Harbors which is where most people finish the Trans Catalina Hike.
Also, remember if you will most likely be traveling to Avalon then from Two Harbours. Do not buy both your tickets for Avalon or Two Harbors unless you planned transportation accordingly.